Srinagar, May 16: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Friday strongly criticized J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for advocating the revival of the Tulbul Navigation Project amid ongoing India-Pakistan tensions.

“At a time when both nations have just stepped back from the brink of war—with Jammu and Kashmir once again paying the highest price through loss of innocent lives, destruction, and suffering—such provocative statements are deeply irresponsible,” she said.

Mehbooba emphasized that the people of J&K deserve peace and stability, not political moves that risk further conflict.

“Weaponizing water—a source of life—is not only inhumane, but it also threatens to internationalize an issue that must remain strictly bilateral,” she added.

Earlier, Omar Abdullah had shared an aerial view of the Wullar barrage and suggested that the project can be revived as the Indus Water Treaty had been ‘temporarily suspended’.

The project started in the early 1980s had to be abandoned under pressure from Pakistan citing the Indus Water Treaty. 

“Now that the IWT has been “temporarily suspended” I wonder if we will be able to resume the project.

It will give us the advantage of allowing us to use the Jhelum for navigation.It will also improve the power generation of downstream power projects, especially in winter,

Source: Greater Kashmir